Reader reviews

• sensitivemuse

  (4/5)

  ***Spoilers ahead you’ve been warned***It is advisable to read the first one before you get into Moon Over Soho. You’re pretty much carrying on right after the events in the first book so it’s always better to get the background information before carrying on :)I was pleased with this one, complete with rather macabre scenes that will stick with me for a while. I still enjoy the way it’s being narrated by Peter Grant. He tells it pretty bluntly and explains well for some of us who don’t live in London which helps understand the setting more. The setting is dark and gritty, just right to complement the mystery that is prevalent to the case. The mix with the supernatural blends quite well with real life London, I believe it’s probably even more enjoyable to read for those that are quite familiar to the city. Supporting characters and some new ones are featured in the book. It’s nice to see Leslie again despite what happened to her (ahh but the ending though!). Peter takes a lot of beating (both verbal and physical) during the book which is to be expected. He does have a thing with Simone that covers a good latter part of the book which is ok, although I thought it provided a lot of filler and it slowed the pace down considerably. You almost wanted to ask; “Peter, don’t you have a case to work on?”It proved to be a quick read with a good open cliffhanger ending with the mystery of The ‘Faceless One’ which makes the series even more intriguing at this point. I’ll be definitely be picking up the third one. A great series to read so far!
• kmartin802_1

  (5/5)

  The second Peter Grant mystery has him investigating the jazz scene in Soho when a drummer dies of a heart attack but has a famous jazz tune as part of his vestigia. That's a clear sign that his death had something supernatural about it. However despite investigation, nothing is found linking him to magic. Another death of a jazz musician does lead to a magical link that takes them to Oxbridge and a club that has been under the radar since the 1960s.Peter is learning from his mentor Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale who is the only registered wizard in London and who happens to be aging backwards. However, Nightingale is still recovering from an injury experienced in their first adventure and Peter is more on his own than perhaps he should be. Peter comes to believe that there are some jazz vampires feeding on and killing jazz musicians which concerns him particularly because his own father is a rather famous one. Peter is busy looking into the unexplained deaths of jazz musicians that has been going on since World War II. Of course, he is also looking into the possibility of other magic users - what his mentor calls black magic users, too. On the personal side, he is dealing with his former colleague Leslie who is still dealing with the grave consequences of the events of MIDNIGHT RIOT and starting a new relationship of his own with Simone Fitzwilliam who was the live-in girlfriend of one the victims of the jazz vampires. This was a fast-paced and very snarky story. Peter has quite a cynical viewpoint but he also has a lot of idealism about his role as a police officer. The world he inhabits with jazz vampires, evil magicians, chimeras and animate rivers along with the day-to-day bustle of modern London and a modern police force is well-drawn and feels very real. I can't wait to see where this series goes as Peter learns more about magic and the supernatural creatures who inhabit his world.
• taliesien

  (3/5)

  Pretty much the same review as the first book. Really liking the story but at around 75% the writing becomes garrulous with excruciatingly detailed descriptions that are completely unnecessary. It was almost as if the author was padding, trying to make the book a certain word count or page number. Completely annoying and gets in the way of a good story with entertaining characters. I've grown attached enough to the MC's to want to keep reading so I will suck it up and read the third book, but if the same pattern follows with that one I'm going to have to give up on this series and hope the author finds a good editor some day. Shame really, with some ruthless editing this series could be in the same class as the Dresden Files.
• ladyoflorien_1

  (4/5)

  The second in the Peter Grant series is even better than the first. I really liked how Leslie was kept in the story after the unfortunate ending for her in the first book. Jazz, vampires, and magic, all with a dose of humour.
• clarerhoden

  (5/5)

  Gotta love a maguc detective in a recognisable London - plus a dog called Toby. A great second adventure with Peter Grant.
• ma_washigeri

  (3/5)

  Wish I'd jotted down the character list as I went along as I lost the plot a bit in the middle. If I read another one I'll do that to save a lot of flicking back and forward.
• isabelx_21

  (4/5)

  'How did you spot this?' I asked. 'I check all the sudden deaths,' said Dr. Walid. 'Just on the off chance. I thought it sounded like jazz.' 'Did you recognize the tune?' 'Not me. I'm strictly prog rock and the nineteenth-century romantics,' said Dr. Walid. 'Did you?' 'It's "Body and Soul,"' I said. 'It's from the 1930s.' 'Who played it?' 'Just about everybody,' I said. 'It's one of the great jazz classics.' 'You can't die of jazz,' said Dr. Walid. 'Can you?' I thought of Fats Navarro, Billie Holiday, and Charlie Parker who, when he died, was mistaken by a coroner for a man twice his real age. 'You know,' I said, 'I think you'll find you can.'Jazz had certainly done its best to do for my father.As it's about a year since I re-read Rivers of London, I thought I had better get on to book 2 before I forgot what happened. Unfortunately I wasn't as keen on Moon Over Soho, as the various plot lines felt rather disjointed. Although some of the Rivers made an appearance (with Ash and the ambulance trip probably being my favourite part of the book), the plotline about the other magician(s) never really grabbed me, and nor did the mysterious deaths of jazz musicians.But I still went straight on to book 3, and that was a definite improvement.
• kmajort

  (4/5)

  Paranormal in the sense that Harry Dresden is.... so I'm saying "magic". Good fun, solidly fills a niche I'd been missing.
• passion4reading_1

  (4/5)

  Peter Grant, police constable in the Metropolitan Police and apprentice wizard, investigates a series of seemingly natural deaths among jazz musicians, while also trying to hunt down a dangerous ethically challenged (that's black, to you and me) magician and trying to avoid upsetting the offspring of the local river gods, paramedics and various other inhabitants of London.The second volume in the Rivers of London series of urban fantasy novels, this book shows a little more what it means to be a wizard, apprentice or fully qualified, employed by the Metropolitan Police, and it's a wonder that Peter Grant actually manages to get in some practice and training, he's so busy chasing after suspects (or otherwise engaged). While the engaging writing and easy deprecating humour are still very much in evidence, I would have preferred not to get to know Peter quite so intimately (if you catch my meaning); apart from that, after a fairly slow start the plot heated up very nicely and became rather tense, though certain passages are not for the squeamish. It is clear that certain developments will play a significant part in subsequent novels, and I will definitely continue with the series.
• dmmjlllt

  (4/5)

  Good entry in the series. No significant drop off from Rivers of London (at least in my opinion) and actually takes some surprising turns here and there. Sets up a satisfactorily scary big villain for the next few books? (rest of the series, maybe?).Not the place to start with the series (obviously).
• 5eva5

  (5/5)

  When Constable (and sorcerer apprentice) Peter Grant examines the body of a musician, he hears notes of old jazz, notes that aren't actually being played in the here and now, so Grant knows it's time for him and DCI Nightingale to go on the hunt for a supernatural killer. Aaronovitch has really built a wonderful world, firmly based in real life London, but with the supernatural added in such a way that it all seems possible, even probable; when Grant hijacks an ambulance to save one of the river gods, he gets a run-of-the-mill bollocking from his boss, as if he had broken any regular copper's rule. Also, when the people get hurt in this series, they stay hurt - there are no instant fixes for magical damage, which really adds tons to the story's verisimilitude. It's all very good, but what really brings it home for me are the characters who are just so witty and real that I need to root for them - this is another of the few books (authors, really) where I find myself going back in the text just to read some passages out loud. Very entertaining installment in a series I hope to follow for a very long time.
• mrslee_1

  (4/5)

  There are many reviews of this book, so I'm only typing my thoughts here so I remember for the future. Peter Grant, up and coming wizard apprentice/police detective, has two cases. One has to do with jazz musicians dying untimely "natural" deaths, the other is getting to the bottom of the "pale lady" mystery and the possibility that there are magicians left in London unknown to authorities who are not using their abilities for the public good.I loved that some considerate person has put together a station on YouTube to go with this book which has many variations of the song, "Body and Soul" by different artists. It made great background music while reading. I enjoy the relationship Peter has with his parents and Nightingale. Peter has some of the smart-assery I like, some of the compassion and the thirst for justice even if he pretends not to. I didn't care for the many wild sex scenes, but they were integral to a certain character's nature.
• gretchening

  (4/5)

  So far this is the weakest of the series (I just finished listening to #2) but I still really enjoyed it.
• ajbraithwaite_1

  (3/5)

  Didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the first. I found I was getting confused between the various cases that Peter Grant was working on - couldn't keep them straight in my head - and I found the descriptions of his sexual prowess a bit OTT (yes, I'm probably turning into a prude in my old age).
  
  There were lots of fun parts - the ambulance hijacking and the disembodied fortune-telling head, for example - and I appreciated the use of the London Metropolitan Archives in a supporting role. But overall, not quite as gripping and easy to follow as the first in the series. And there were similar editing issues in this one, too.
• seschend

  (4/5)

  A great second act/novel from Aaronovitch and it was nice to see gradual/organic change in Peter Grant & his supporting cast. Too often, there's an overcorrection and huge jump/change between an intro book and a followup, and that didn't happen here. Good plot, interesting new characters and fleshing out returning characters. Recommended if you want a decently paced magical procedural.
• fhudnell-1

  (3/5)

  This is the second book in the series, but it's the fourth one that I have read. While I do love this series, this was my least favorite book so far. The good news is that the narrator of the audio books, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, was even better in this book than he was in the first book, where there were some distracting sounds. He really is a wonderful narrator for these books. The bad news is that I didn't care for the plot which I thought was scattered and I particularly disliked some aspects of the plot. I could easily have done without the lengthy sex scenes and the side plot about the fiend who bites off penises. Also the river gods were mostly absent from this book and I generally didn't find it as witty and amusing as books 1, 3 and 4 of the series. Overall, I was a little disappointed by this one.
• tpausilver

  (4/5)

  Moon over Soho is a fun and interesting read. I have the distinct disadvantage in reading this that I didn't read the first book first but jumped right in here, but I sitll found this interesting. There was enough back story to fill you in without swamping the book. The world-building is interesting, I loved the idea of the gods of the london rivers and about the intersection between a magical urban fantasy world and the mundane police force. The plot was a little trite, I had it worked out long before the cop did while is never a good thing, and I had no real sense of suspense at the end. This is very much a middle book, there's never any feeling that something big is at stake. That said, for a middle book it's very good. I love how London and London life is woven in to the plot so centraly, you couldn't set this book anywhere else and have it be the same book. The characters are all complex, if a little slow on the uptake, and I love how the main character's entire life is would up in the story, his home, his family, his job etc. Give it depth. So, yeah, it's a fun middle book, has a plot of it's own, even if it's a little obvious, builds on the characters I presume are from the first book and sets up a villain for later books.
• estellechauvelin

  (4/5)

  This series is the best thing in urban fantasy since The Dresden Files. I can't wait to see more of it.
• Mike P Wagner

  (4/5)

  Light and fun - one aspect was a bit predictable, but overall a good read.
• Kathryn Soderholm

  (5/5)

  Peter is kind of carrying the Idiot Ball in this book, but it had a hell of an ending.
• bardbooks

  (4/5)

  After finishing the second book, I now understand why some critics call the Rivers of London series a blend of CSI and Harry Potter. Glad I scoured about for the entire series; it's a great winter binge.
• kittycunningh-815148

  (3/5)

  As with all "second in a series", I enjoyed the first one better. But, I like this world and these characters and I will continue with the series.
  
  
• mithril_1

  (5/5)

  Well-written and plotted.
• charlotteburt

  (4/5)

  Good ending
• switchknitter

  (4/5)

  I am really loving this series. Peter Grant is a great character -- he's flawed, but he tries hard, and sometimes he's damn funny. Definitely recommend this!
• jennybeast

  (5/5)

  Read it again, this time as a splendidly narrated audio book. Love the police procedural aspects, love the sarcastic humor, and it's a good review of Peter Grant's adventures -- how could I forget the Irregulars? And The Jazz Vampires? And the heartbreaking sorrow of Simone.
• count_zero-837732

  (5/5)

  I've found the best Urban Fantasy novels are also great detective novels, except instead of ballistics, DNA testing, and the other tools of the science detectives trade that Sherlock Holmes & the like bust out, there's magic. The Peter Grant novels succeed at this fantastically. Aaronovitch creates excellent characters and riveting mysteries that really pull you in.
• murderbydeath

  (4/5)

  There are two storylines running through Moon Over Soho: one that begins and ends with this book, involving a string of suspicious deaths, all of them jazz musicians. The other centres on a mysterious, faceless, unknown sorcerer running around London killing and conducting his own Dr. Moreau type experiments, and the reader is left hanging as to its resolution, presumably because it will come back up in future books. I knew how the first story line would play out by the time I got to a page that falls somewhere in the range of 40-60 (I won't give the exact page number because I don't want to risk spoilers). This is why my rating is only 3.5 stars. The story is still good, but it's definitely hampered by knowing the ending, and wanting to smack Peter for not figuring out what was right in front of him a lot sooner. To give credit though, I did not foresee how he would try to resolve the situation; I liked it, even though it didn't work out quite the way he's hoped.
• tsmom1219

  (4/5)

  The second book in the Peter Grant series was just as satisfying as the first. I'm really enjoying the series and am looking forward to seeing how some of the dangling threads at the end of this one are tied up in future books.
• skybalon

  (4/5)

  I think this series gets better as it goes on. It isn't deep nor does it ask any big questions but it is fun and well worth the read.